Star Fox: A New Dimension
by FoxRocks
Summary: In my first Star Fox story, you will continue the team's adventures since the end of the Aparoid Invasion. They encounter new enemies and face exciting secrets in a fantasy that will hopefully gather Star Fox fans around. Warning: Some Romance. Please enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**A/N: I have revamped the story to improve its quality over the original version; please enjoy!**

* * *

Team Star Fox is back in action for more adventures following the Aparoid Invasion. They will encounter new enemies and new secrets that will unfold into an exciting adventure filled with action and romance. Enjoy my first Star Fox story, 'Star Fox: A New Dimension'!


	2. An Unpleasant Surprise Returning Home

**Chapter 1: An Unpleasant Surprise Returning Home**

**The Star Fox team has just destroyed the Aparoid Queen and the home world of the Aparoids. Now that the heroic team has saved the day once again, they travel back to Corneria…**

The Arwings of the proud Star Fox team cruised through the vacuum of space, knowing that they had saved the Lylat System once again. First they had to stop their first arch nemesis, Andross, who had tried to dominate the Lylat System after declaring war against everyone else. Now, they had come up against the Aparoids, evil creatures who had tried to take over the galaxy.

Fox McCloud, the leader of Star Fox, called in over the intercom, "Let's get inside of Peppy and ROB's ship and get back to Corneria."

Fox McCloud wore a white coat, red boots, a green shirt and green pants, and had bright emerald-colored eyes. The four Arwings neatly formed in a center position and rode into Peppy and ROB's ship. The teammates landed their Arwings inside a vast hangar within the bigger ship. The excited Star Fox teammates jumped out of their spaceships and were greeted by a battered, yet happy old rabbit all bandaged up. The aged hare's name was Peppy Hare. He used to be a member of the original Star Fox team. Peppy had a white lab coat, orange clothes, black boots, and spectacles across his red eyes.

"Like I said before, this time, I promise I'm gonna retire," Peppy said and grinned to Fox.

Fox embraced his old friend with a hug and said, "They thought you were dead."

Peppy stood back and said, "So did I, at first! But at least we knew later that I'd be alright, despite the injuries. Goodness! For a moment, I really did think that ROB and I here were goners!"

"We've all done great, team." Fox complemented everyone.

Falco Lombardi, a teammate, ace pilot, and Fox's friend, started complaining, "I hate that Leon guy. Who does he think he is? Who does Star Wolf think they are?"

Falco was a tall, blue-feathered avian, currently wearing a red jumpsuit Leon was a member of the dreaded Star Wolf Team, a group that had originally been organized by their leader, Wolf O'Donnell, and had worked for Andross. They had actually just helped Star Fox defeat the Aparoids and their home world. But what the heck, no one wants gigantic bugs ruling the galaxy! Slippy Toad was the sarcastic and jumpy mechanic of the team. Slippy was a stout, green frog, dressed in a yellow and brown suit.

"I can't believe it! Peppy, you gave us a scare!" Slippy frantically said as he bounced up and down.

Peppy scratched the back of his head, smiled, and said, "Well, it was the only way to get you guys into the core! If I hadn't, we'd either all be dead or unsuccessfully driving home right now."

The team had to agree with that much. Krystal, the only remaining team member left, stepped up to speak. She was a vixen clothed in a blue suit, had green eyes, and average in height.

"What about yourself, Fox? You were the one that actually defeated the queen," Krystal said to Fox.

The teammates turned to face their captain, as Fox replied in 'defense', "Without you guys, I couldn't have. You helped me the whole way through since Oikonny's fleet attacked. You helped me in the air a lot in Arwings, sometimes assisted me on the ground, and of course always helped fend off the Aparoids for me. I owe you guys one."

"But if it wasn't for you, we'd have no one to guide us or anything!" Krystal threw back.

Fox looked down and nervously replied, "I guess you're right about that. The truth of it is, we all did well, and now, we all deserve a break."

Fox had gone to his cabin for some rest before the ship would arrive back at Corneria. Corneria was the capital of the galaxy, a city-planet with many futuristic features. Fox had always been timid around girls, especially someone beautiful like Krystal. But at the same time, he could probably talk to her better if they were alone. It was probably just around in public… He wished he could ask her out on a date, for he knew he loved her. He just felt like he couldn't tell her that or ask her out. Krystal was the only inhabitant from Planet Cerinia left. The planet had been destroyed a long time ago along with the tragic death of Krystal's parents. Krystal traveled to Planet Sauria afterwards in the Lylat System and had been captured by Andross. Fox saved her and they met the EarthWalker tribe along with Prince Tricky. Fox's mom, Vixy Reinard McCloud, had died when he was young, while his father, James McCloud, had been killed by Andross when Fox was eighteen years old. That was one of the triggers of the Lylat Wars, the time where Star Fox fought against Andross and his men. At that time, Fox hadn't met Krystal.

Falco Lombardi had been a long-time friend of Fox, along with Slippy. Falco was an excellent pilot and usually went solo in an Arwing. Slippy was the one that liked traveling along with the team, doing whatever. When Star Fox had been put together, Slippy had been assigned as the mechanic. Now he usually just went alongside the missions in Arwings or on the ground. Krystal was the team's telepath; she could sense distress or danger from another planet. Pigma Dengar, an obese pig, was an original member of Star Fox. Later though, he betrayed James and turned him over to Andross for a profit. Pigma later became a member of Star Wolf; he was kicked out because of his greed, however. He was later destroyed by Star Fox when he had been infected by the evil Aparoids. Fox collected a core memory from him to find the location of the Aparoid home world. Peppy had been a member of both the original and current Star Fox. Now, however, he was going to retire. He had been friends with Fox and his father. Now, the whole team was ready for some vacation time.

Peppy's voice called in over the ship's intercom, "We're now in orbit with Corneria. But we've got a big problem…"

Fox sprang up from his bed and dashed through the corridors to reach the center control room. Once he arrived, he saw the team had already gotten there. They all saw a huge, ship battalion charging toward Corneria!

"Okay… who are these guys?" Fox asked the team.

Peppy turned around to face Fox and answered, "We don't know…"

Fox gave Peppy a surprised look and went closer to the window to get a better view of the action. There were some Cornerian Army ships engaged in the fight already, but clearly, they needed help. The enemy ships were an ugly, brownish color.

Fox made up his mind and said, "Alright. Falco, Krystal and I will go out in Arwings. I want Slippy and Peppy in here."

Fox, Falco, and Krystal dashed into the hangar to get to their Arwings as soon as possible. Peppy and Slippy got ready to use the turrets inside of Peppy's ship.

ROB 64, the team's robot assistant, came sauntering into the main control room and announced, "Unknown presence lurks ahead. Gateway Transmission threatened."

When Peppy heard the news, he shouted over the intercom before the three left, "Protect the Orbital Gate! They're trying to destroy it!"

Once they were out in their Arwings, they were surprised to find that the enemy ships didn't even try to shoot at them. They quickly took position near the Orbital Gate and started firing their lasers towards the large battalion of the unknown enemies. The team managed to destroy a few ships before the enemy finally returned fire. It was difficult to maneuver around the Orbital Gate while being shot at…

"I've got a plan. Falco, you take the right side. Krystal, you take the left. I'll stay here. If we make a formation, we can outmaneuver the enemy and take them down," Fox said.

He fired ahead at the one directly across from him, while Krystal was taking out the one behind it, and Falco the one behind both of those. After the teammates had destroyed five or so more enemies, Cornerian Army ships came to their aid and began firing at the enemy as well. Unfortunately, the enemy had gotten stronger after cluing on and there were more of their ships incoming.

"Send Slippy out here, Peppy! We need another ship! In the meantime, try tackling some of them in the back of their formation!" Fox shouted over his intercom.

Peppy responded, "Will do."

Slippy arrived shortly after in his Arwing and started firing at whatever enemy ships he could target. They saw Peppy's ship drive past the enemy's formation and toward the back.

Peppy reported, "They have a device generating more of them! I'll have to destroy that!"

Fox said, "Roger that. We're doing just fine with the battleships."

Just then, they noticed some of the ships moving past the Cornerian forces and towards the back of the Orbital Gate.

"Krystal! You and I have to go and take out the ships on the side of the Gate!" Fox commanded.

Krystal reported, "Alright. I've got your back." The two Arwings came to confront the enemy ships.

Peppy suddenly stated, "The generator spitting out the enemy was tougher than I thought. I've already used the blaster guns in this ship plenty of times. I'm gonna have to use the bomb."

"Permission granted", Fox joked. "Just make sure that thing stops multiplying. If it doesn't, we'll be here longer than I anticipated."

Fox and Krystal found themselves avoiding a lot of gunfire from the enemy.

"We can't let them destroy the Gate. We've got to stop them at all costs!" Krystal said with force.

Fox agreed, and the two maneuvered around the ships going toward the Gate, trying to get on a side where the enemy wouldn't notice them. Once they found a good spot, they didn't hesitate to attack. Fox was blasting at two while Krystal was taking out two more. After they had each destroyed one of the ships, the other two faced them and started firing back. Fox and Krystal did a barrel roll and exchanged sides, confusing the enemy. Once they had been baffled, Fox and Krystal took them out with no problem.

Falco and Slippy were still dealing with the incoming enemy ahead. Fox and Krystal took the right and left sides respectively to make sure that the enemy couldn't get close to the Gate again.

"I've used a Smart Bomb to destroy the generator!" Peppy announced, "And it worked! Not to mention, it took care of some of the ships back here."

Fox grinned with success and said, "Great! Now, we just have to take out the remaining ships and we can land on Corneria."

Peppy slowly moved up through the row of the enemy ships, shooting down the ones he could. More Cornerian Army ships arrived and started shooting down a high percentage of the ships. Fox, Falco, Krystal, and Slippy were taking down the remaining. As Fox noticed debris from an enemy ship, he collected a sample of it (using a teleporter beam that could bring items to him) before they were done destroying the battalion. He figured it'd be important to keep for the academy to look at.

"Well done, team. Now we can finally return to Corneria safely," Peppy said, obviously pleased with the team's efforts.

Fox told Peppy, "I've collected a sample from the enemy. Maybe the Research Facility can identify who attacked us."

* * *

Once Peppy's ship and Cornerian Army ships were entering the atmosphere of Corneria, the Star Fox team had parked their Arwings back inside of Peppy's new vehicle. They were greeted by Cornerian Officials and a weary General Pepper once they landed their ship on a landing platform. Fox and Falco stepped out first, followed by Krystal, then Slippy, then finally Peppy and ROB.

Peppy said to Pepper, "It's good to be back after all that."

"Did you take out the enemy?" Pepper asked them.

Fox came forward and answered, "Yes, it's all taken care of, General. I see Corneria's been almost repaired ever since the Aparoids attacked. How are you?"

General Pepper was the commander of the Cornerian Army and Academy. The old dog had been in office for quite a long time now! Pepper had been infected by the Aparoids and almost died while Star Fox was fighting away on Planet Sauria.

"Not completely well. I mean, I'm getting old anyways. And by the way, that reminds me. Peppy, I am appointing you the new general of the army and academy!" Pepper surprised them.

Peppy seemed shocked but at the same time honored.

Peppy humbly approached the now retired general and said, "I'm truly honored, sir. I'll do my best as general. I was going to retire from Star Fox anyway."

"Congrats to us all, then!" Pepper declared.

Fox came forward again and said, "Not entirely. We've got to figure out who was attacking us. It could be vital. They had strong generators that could make more of them. I've collected a specimen from their ship."

He handed it over to Pepper, who took it and said, "I see… Perhaps the Research Facility can figure it out. Thank you for all you've done, Star Fox. Peppy will take my place, now. I am still ill from the Aparoid infection. Hopefully I'll be all right. But that's not important…"

Fox chuckled and replied, "Of course it is. It'll be all right, General."

And so, the Star Fox team had embarked on their next adventure…


	3. A New Enemy and Secrets

**Chapter 2: A New Enemy and Secrets**

The team immediately went to the research facility to figure out what had attacked the planet. They met up with Slippy's dad, Beltino Toad. Beltino was the same height as Slippy, and had a small mustache as well as big yellow glasses; he was the head of the research facility.

When he saw them, the research director said, "Hello again, everybody!"

Slippy stepped forward and explained, "No time to fool around, dad! Did you here about the enemy that attacked us?"

Beltino replied, "Ahem, uh, yes. We have no idea who they are…"

Fox came forward and said, "Hopefully we will soon. I picked up a specimen of their ship. With any luck, this will identify who they are and what they want."

Beltino snatched the specimen from Fox's hand and inspected it with his glasses, saying, "Yes, I see…"

Slippy threw up his hands and asked, "Well?"

Beltino replied, "I'll need to have the computer scan it. Then, we'll do our best to identify it. Come back later and I should have some information!"

After the team had exited the academy, Slippy whined, "I can't believe my dad! He should…!"

Fox put a hand on Slippy's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure your dad will figure out what we're up against soon enough. For now, let's relax and enjoy ourselves."

Slippy reluctantly gave in to the awesome thought of finally being able to have at least a day of vacation after the Aparoid Invasion. As they walked through the capital planet of the galaxy, they bumped into someone shaking his fists in the air.

Fox politely said, "Excuse me, sir."

The gray-haired cat spun around and replied, "No need! This is awesome!"

Fox asked, "One more time?"

The man clarified, "Just go up ahead! This bull-dog guy got into some fight with our champion at the club!"

Fox disapproved, but still continued to walk further and eventually saw Bill Grey fighting a huge, ugly ape! Grey was Fox's friend in the Cornerian Army; they had met a long time ago in the Academy.

Fox got closer and heard Bill cry, "Give me that case! It's of no worth to you!"

Fox turned and saw a black briefcase sitting on the ground beside the ape. The ape mocked Bill, "Aw, boo hoo! You're gonna have to fight me for it, pilot!"

Fox pushed aside some of the crowd and stepped inside the fighting grounds to join the fight and help Bill.

Fox threw his fist as hard as he could into the ape's face to stun him, than motioned to Bill to help him. Bill and Fox unleashed a double roundhouse-kick at the ape's center, knocking him down to the surface. The ape angrily got up to face his new opponent. He swung his large fist at Fox, but Fox easily avoided it by ducking. The second time the ape tried to punch Fox, Fox jumped on top of his arm and slid a mean kick into the ape's face. While the ape covered his damaged face, Fox jumped down and started wildly punching and kicking at the ape. Bill joined in again to attack and the ape fell to the ground eventually, unconscious.

Bill snatched up the briefcase as the audience cried out, "New Champion, new champion, new champion!"

Fox said to the immobilized ape, "Pick on someone you can handle next time, big fella."

Fox turned to face Bill and asked, "What was that all about?"

Bill straightened up and replied, "Some jerk who calls himself the leader of this joint picked a fight with me and tried to steal my briefcase!"

Fox looked down at the black box and asked, "What's in it?"

Bill whispered to him, "I'll tell you at my place. Let's go."

As the wild audience tried to touch Bill and Fox, Krystal ran up to Fox and embraced him in a huge hug.

She said, "Fox! That was extremely dangerous! Don't worry me like that again!"

Fox hugged her back and said, "Don't worry. I'm fine. I've got to go talk to Bill. You and the rest go back to your cabins at the academy; I'll be back later." Krystal nodded and reluctantly let the fox go.

* * *

Bill Grey flipped on his light switch and set his briefcase down on the table. He joked to Fox, "I rest my case."

Fox grinned at his friend's humor and sat on the couch. He asked again, "So, what's in it?"

Bill looked down at the briefcase and answered, "I'm not exactly sure yet. It's classified information from the academy. General Pepper gave it to me right before he officially retired."

Fox thought in his head for a moment. He said, "I can't imagine what could be inside!"

Bill gave him a crooked smile and said, "Why don't we find out? After all, you're a member of Star Fox and the academy."

Fox's eyes focused on the black box in Bill's hands and saw him about to unclip it. But just before he could, Bill saw someone behind Fox and shouted, "WATCH OUT!" Fox got the hint instantly and did a back-flip through the air to avoid a chair being smashed over his head.

As his attacker was in that position, Fox kicked his behind, sending the attacker sprawling over the couch. Fox leapt atop of the couch and raised his blaster gun to the attacker. The assailant was a short monkey.

Fox demanded, "What are you doing?"

The attacker turned around slowly and saw that his opponent had a gun. He slowly got up and raised his hands. Then his hand darted out like a snake and knocked the gun from Fox's hand. He took advantage of Fox's shock and sent his fist into Fox's stomach. Fox grabbed a hold of the monkey's arm and threw him into the wall. The attacker thudded hard against the wall, but came back fast and charged at Fox, crying "AAARR!"

Fox jumped past the attacker and grabbed a glass from Bill's table. The attacker turned around to face Fox again and lunged at him. Fox avoided the ambusher's vicious attack, than Fox used the back of his fist to collide against the monkey's face, sending him downward on top of the table. As the attacker tried to get up, Fox used all his might to bring the glass over the attacker's head, knocking him out cold.

Fox looked at the chimp suspiciously.

Then Bill suggested, "He must have been after the briefcase. Maybe this thing's more valuable than I thought!"

Fox retrieved his blaster and said, "He probably works for someone who wants the briefcase. But how could it be that important?"

Bill responded, "Well, just think about it. General Pepper gave it to me. Maybe it has secrets?"

Fox dashed over to Bill's position and said, "Let's open it."

Bill nodded and got it open this time. The first page read, 'TOP SECRET! ALL DOCUMENTS IN HERE ARE STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL!' Bill shrugged and threw the first page aside, revealing the next.

Bill saw a letter as the next page. He read it, _"'My life has been difficult and sometimes bleak as a general. I have come to love and let go in my life. Especially the day that James McCloud died.'" _

Bill turned to Fox. Fox just said, "Read on."

_"'I knew since that day I had lost a very good man. Ever since then I had longed to retire from my duties. I wouldn't want my stature to go to waste and shame. But I knew I had to stay, for I had no one to take over at the time, and the Lylat Wars raged on. I needed a new Star Fox Team. I organized it with Fox McCloud (the son of James), Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad, and Peppy Hare, an original team member as well. Pigma Dengar, an original member, had betrayed us and turned James over to the evil Andross, a scientist I had banished years ago to Planet Venom. Pigma is now dead. He had been infected by the treacherous Aparoids, creatures that infested the entire Lylat System and nearly destroyed it. Star Fox had no choice but to destroy Dengar and retrieve a core memory to defeat the Aparoids. And indeed, the Star Fox team had destroyed Andross and the Aparoids. The Aparoids had personally attacked me when Star Fox was fighting on Planet Sauria. I have been seriously ill since that day and am close to death.'"_

Bill gasped when he heard that general was dying, but Fox said once more, "Keep reading."

"'_I retired soon after. The day I retired was the day I wrote this. I wanted to retire so that Star Fox and Corneria wouldn't have to worry about my death. I'd be lucky to last another month. I have appointed Mr. Peppy Hare as the new general of the army and academy. I have high expectations that the Star Fox team will protect us in the future, and that Mr. Hare will be an even better general than I. The documents inside the briefcase are vital. All of them.'" –General Pepper_

Bill clenched his teeth and said, "I knew his injury was serious! He just wouldn't tell us! I…"

Fox calmed him down and said, "It's just one secret ahead of many others, Bill. I think he still knows many things that we don't yet. Go on to the next document."

Bill nodded and neatly set aside Pepper's last words and gazed at the next document. He and Fox began to examine the paper. It read at the top, _McCloud Family: The family branch of the McClouds. This is General Pepper. All that has been written was on the day of my fateful and inevitable retirement. Here is the family branch of the McClouds, my loyal Star Fox leaders. William McCloud, great grandfather of young Fox. He was the inventor of the academy here in Corneria. If it were not for William, we wouldn't have most of our current industry on Corneria or many other planets in the Lylat. Henry McCloud, the grandfather of young Fox. He advanced on Williams' technology and ideas to expand our inventions. He created an advanced blaster gun, and the first machine gun. Henry made the Gattling Gun. Henry also made the Plasma Cannon. I was born a few years before the birth of James McCloud, the father of Fox. I unfortunately never got to meet James's brother, Steven. At the time of James's birth, my father Richard (who had known Henry personally) was dying and gave me the academy, which had been under his control (given to him by Henry). When I met James, Peppy, and Pigma, I could already tell that they'd make a good team. Around that time, James had been excelling in his missions and his son, Fox, had come about. After the tragic, apparent death of James (supposedly killed off by Andross),Fox was appointed the new leader of Star Fox. He avenged his father and became a great man. He is bound to bring balance to this galaxy eventually, and all will be well. _

Fox seemed confused immediately at the whole section about his family. He said, "I can't believe my great and regular grandfather had invented some of the weapons we use! But why does Pepper keep using words like, supposedly, or, apparent about my father's death? And I never knew I had an uncle!"

Bill shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I dunno. It's kinda weird. How about we read more tomorrow? After all, we've read enough surprises for today."

Fox nodded and said, "You're right about that, Bill. I wonder about Steven, though…"

"Like I said before, we'll read more tomorrow. I'll see you then," Bill said. Fox said goodbye and left Bill's cabin.

Once Fox began walking away from Bill's house, Beltino suddenly called Fox's cell phone, "Fox! I've figured out who the enemy was! Come by the academy, quickly!"

Fox rushed over to the academy to meet up with Beltino again.

Beltino elucidated, "This enemy is truly fascinating! They're called Tritans. They've been around longer than almost any other beings in the galaxy! They have many of the generators you encountered earlier and are extremely lethal outside of ships. The ones you encountered were exceptionally mild. You were fortunate."

Fox cocked his head to a side and asked, "Has the Cornerian Army ever faced them before?"

Beltino responded, "We don't know that, yet. The Tritans weren't trying to destroy the Gate, by the way. They tried to gain it for themselves."

"I'm not quite following you," Fox said.

Beltino went on, "They're looking for planets to live on and dominate and harvest. They needed the Gate to locate other planets. They don't have one of their own. And since they want our planets, they will declare war on the Lylat System."


	4. Ambush on Fortuna

**Chapter 3: Ambush on Fortuna**

Never had Fox been so surprised about his family or anything else for that matter… And now he wondered if there was some sort of connection between his family and the new enemy, the Tritans; Fox needed to read more of the documents from the briefcase. Who had the attacker been when Fox and Bill searched the case? Fox figured it could have been a hired henchman to retrieve it for someone else.

After hearing slightly more from Beltino, Fox decided that the Tritans obviously had to be destroyed.

"How do we stop them if there's no source?" Fox asked Beltino.

Beltino gravely shut his eyes.

"I can't be exactly sure, but if we have no direct source, we might as well locate and destroy the generators that reproduce more. After all, that's absolutely the last thing we need…" Beltino said.

Fox nodded and suggested, "We should probably start locating them as soon as possible, before they can become a threat to Lylat like the Aparoids were."

Beltino nodded and sat down at a chair near his computer. He went to his locating section and typed in _Tritans._ While the computer loaded the search, Fox asked, "Do you think anyone else is interested in the Tritans?"

Beltino turned to face Fox and said, "That could be bad. We want to avoid having multiple enemies as much as we can."

"Pepper gave Bill a briefcase full of confidential information. Before we got to open it, we were attacked by some crazy monkey. I think there's something going on…" Fox told Beltino.

"What did you find in the briefcase?" Beltino asked.

Fox replied, "A letter from the general and info on my family branch. Does that mean anything to you?"

Beltino thought for a moment, than said, "It's always possible that anything can tie in with something. We can't assume or let it go. Just keep it in mind as a possibility."

Just then, the loading on the computer stopped, and a message read, 'ACCESS DENIED. INFORMMATION IS BEING BLOCKED BY OTHER USER'. Beltino's eyes grew wild and he spun around to face Fox.

"Someone else _is_ involved," Beltino declared. "If it was someone else at the academy, it wouldn't be blocked. We've got to find out who's involved and why!"

Fox nodded and said, "I should read more of the information in the briefcase first, Beltino. You and the research facility can look into this. I'll be back later."

Fox went back to his cabin section where he met up with Falco, Krystal, and Slippy.

"I've got to go back to Bill's. There's some strange conspiracy going on with the Tritans," Fox informed his teammates.

Slippy scratched the back of his head and asked, "Uh, what are Tritans?"

"They're the enemy we faced before we got back here," Fox answered. "I've found some interesting info in a briefcase that Bill has. I'll come back to you guys later."

Falco shouted as Fox left, "Watch your back, Foxie!"

Fox knocked on Grey's door loud enough so that his neighbors could hear.

Bill answered and asked, "Why'd you knock so darn loud?"

"Never mind that; let's look at the briefcase again," Fox replied.

Bill nodded and they returned to their positions they had been in a while ago. Bill reopened the case and took out the first two pages they had already seen. He went to the third and started reading it.

"'_This paper concerns the matter of conflict before the Lylat Wars. When Henry McCloud became famous for his first gun inventions, a strange enemy known as the Tritans came along. Nobody but I, Pepper, now knows about these eccentric creatures. I'll leave it to the current Star Fox team to figure the rest out. These Tritans brutally and ruthlessly massacred Corneria with their harsh and near unbeatable weapons. Every citizen believed it was the end of their lives… But in the midst, young Henry was smart enough to find a deadly weakness for the Tritans. It is none other than metal. Once the Cornerian citizens shielded themselves with metal domes, the Tritans ran off. Henry became a famous hero to Corneria after that. And that is how the McClouds became so famous. Like I stated previously, Henry continued William's work, and James became the first leader of Star Fox. Later in Henry's life, Lylat was at peace. Henry had created a special antidote that could destroy any major portion of the Tritans. He passed it down to his first son, Steven, James McCloud's brother. When James was twenty, twenty-five-year-old Steven went missing. No one had seen him since. Now, we must use our best resources to defend ourselves and destroy these Tritans once and for all.' –General Pepper"_

Bill just sat there, jaw dropped.

"Pepper and your family sure knew a lot, Fox," he murmured.

Fox thought for a moment, then realized, "So that's why I never knew about my uncle. He went missing. Perhaps the Tritans kidnapped him, so that he couldn't use the antidote on them…"

Bill shrugged and helplessly said, "I just don't know. It's all so complicated…"

Fox sat up and said, "But I was right. The Tritans do tie in to my family. I've got to find my uncle in order to figure out more about them."

"You're probably right, my old friend. There are two pages in the briefcase left. Shall we read them?" Bill asked

"Yes. Before I can rescue Steven, I've got to know more," Fox replied.

Bill agreed and started to read the next page.

"'_This next page concerns secrets that only I have gotten to know. The following was information learned from a Cornerian soldier, who told me about it. I had to pass this briefcase down to someone; otherwise we'd all be doomed. James McCloud is still alive.'"_

Fox was shocked, not knowing what to do! He had thought all this time, his father was gone…

Bill kept reading, "'_Andross has been resurrected since his apparent death after the Star Fox team added Krystal. Andross will be searching for information on the Tritans, for he wants to create a new army of his own. It is vital that he and the Tritans are stopped. If Andross finds a way to control these powerful creatures, then we are done for. It is up to Star Fox to stop it. The only way is to locate Steven for the formula and prevent Andross from making any further progress. Andross is located on Planet Titania, a harsh desert planet on the outskirts of the Lylat System. Steven could be anywhere. It is extremely important that we win this battle, or everything will end for us. Good luck, Star Fox.'" - General Pepper_

Fox was surprised at all the knowledge that Pepper had and how his father was still alive! Fox guessed that the goon that had attacked them must have been one of Andross's men. After the Tritans and Andross were stopped, Fox thought that maybe he could search for his father…

"My next objective is to find my long-lost Uncle Steven and get his antidote. Then, I should put an end to the Tritans before they can cause any more serious trouble. Lastly, I'll hopefully put a final end to Andross," Fox explained to Bill.

Bill asked, "What about the last page?"

Fox cleared his throat and proposed, "Let's wait until later on tonight. I need some time to think about all of this."

"I'll see you later, then," Bill said to Fox.

Fox nodded and said, "I'll be in my cabin if you need me."

Once Fox arrived home, he was greeted by a frantic Slippy, panicking all over. Even though it was unsettling, Fox was used to seeing his green friend freak out.

"What's the matter, Slip?" Fox asked him.

Slippy ran up to Fox and enlightened him, "We've gotten a call from Peppy; he says that there's danger! We have to get to the academy, fast!"

Fox, Slippy, Falco, and Krystal ran through the city streets of Corneria as fast as they could, wasting no time to get to whatever was going on.

Once they arrived at the academy, Peppy told them, "We've got some bad news. The enemies you faced earlier…"

"Tritans," Fox put in.

Peppy continued, "Yes, Tritans. They're attacking Planet Fortuna. At all costs, you must find the source there and take out the Tritans."

"Will do, Peppy. Let's go, team!" Fox said.

Fortuna is a green, vegetated planet with some bases and forts. But all the team had remembered since their last visit was taking down Andross's nephew, Andrew Oikonny. Ever since then, they believed that he had been killed by an Aparoid model after Star Fox beat him. Once the team had arrived, they saw all the Tritans invading the place. They had to be stopped before Fortuna was destroyed!

"Alright. I'll go up ahead. Falco, you go east. Slippy, you go west. And Krystal, you wait here for any others," Fox commanded.

Fox put his Arwing into the highest gear and sprang forwards, ready for action. Cannons were underneath the maroon-colored hatches of the Tritans' ships. They rapidly fired at Fox's Arwing, forcing him into barrel-rolls and loops. Once Fox had avoided numerous attacks, he started blowing up the barricade of ships, and then moved on to find some of the Tritan ships wrecking a small village. Fox moved his Arwing forward and launched a Smart Bomb at a trio of Tritans; it was a successful explosion, destroying all three ships. Below on the surface, Fox saw a squadron of the real Tritan creatures. They were nasty, alien-like creatures with smug looks on their faces. Fox realized his ship was being shot by a cannon, which the Tritans were using from below. Fox couldn't defend himself against the gang, and let his Arwing fall on top of the surface.

Fox climbed out of his wrecked Arwing and noticed that he was up against six Tritans. He pulled out an old machine gun from his dilapidated ship and began firing with no hesitation at the creatures. The Tritans were forced back to find some cover; Fox managed to kill one. The remaining Tritans unleashed their own guns and started firing madly at the fox. Fox ran behind his destroyed ship for cover, as the Tritans fired at it to trash it even more.

As Fox noticed one Tritan looking around the premises, he pulled out his blaster and fired at the creature's head; he managed to kill that one, too. There were four remaining. Fox knew he didn't have the time to deal with all of them one at a time, so he searched through his ruined ship again, this time finding another smart bomb. He threw the bomb between the four pillars the creatures hid behind. They curiously stared at the bomb, but then they met an abrupt end to their lives when a ruthless explosion emerged from the depth of the bomb. Fox grinned, but his victory was short lived, for he saw at least a dozen more Tritan warriors heading his way.

He pulled out his communicator and called for Falco.

"Falco," Fox said, "I need some help at the north area! These pests shot my Arwing down, and I can't fend off fifteen by myself!"

Falco replied, "Sure thing, Foxie. Just give me some time to get over there. I got some of these guys tailing me."

"Yah, could you hurry?" Fox requested.

Fox hung up the communicator and hid himself as well as he could from the Tritans. He knew that they'd figure out where he was eventually. He saw twenty of them advancing towards the direction of his ship.

_Great…_ Fox thought to himself sarcastically.

Slippy called in Fox's communicator, "Fox! I've found the machine that spits out the baddies! It's southwest! You've got to come here quickly! I've already got Krystal heading my way."

Fox responded, "I'll be there as soon as I can. For now, I've got my hands full."

Slippy hung up and Fox could sense that the Tritans knew where he was now. As soon as Fox thought he was a goner, an Arwing scraped against the ground, crushing the twenty Tritans that had surrounded Fox. This reminded Fox of the time Falco had saved him back on Planet Fichina during the Aparoid War…

Fox remarked, "Nice way to crash in."

Falco shouted back, "Get on the wing!"

Fox jumped onto the wing of Falco's Arwing and the two flew off past the horrid scene.

"Thanks a whole lot. We've got to head northwest; Slippy said he's found the source there," Fox told Falco.

Falco replied, "Alright, alright. Just let me drive."

After a few more minutes of driving, Fox and Falco arrived to find Slippy and Krystal beating down more Tritan ships.

Fox asked Slippy, "Where's the generator?"

"It's just ahead!" Slippy responded. "This one's more advanced! It has weapons attached to it and it shoots out more Tritans!"

Slippy paused for a moment, and then said to Fox, "Uh, why are you on top of Falco's Arwing?"

Fox rolled his eyes and answered, "Never mind that now. Just make sure that you and Krystal take out the Tritans while Falco and I destroy the generator."

Slippy reported, "Roger that."

As Slippy and Krystal continued fighting with the Tritans, Fox and Falco advanced to the generator's position. It looked like a giant black hole, large and negative in its appearance…

Falco didn't waste any time using laser fire on the machine, but Fox stopped him and warned, "Don't waste your laser fire! You've got to use a bomb on it!"

Falco listened to his captain and fired a motion sensor bomb at the generator. When it felt the projectile attached, the generator retaliated by firing lethal missiles at Fox and Falco.

"Quick! Drive away!" Fox shouted.

Falco swerved from side to side, avoiding the deadly fire as he went. Before the Tritan-producing machine could fire anymore, the motion sensor bomb went off and the generator was destroyed instantly in a magnificent explosion! Slippy and Krystal's ships soon after met up with Fox and Falco.

Slippy announced, "We've managed to take out the last of those Tritans. Did you destroy the generator?"

Fox shut his eyes in exhaustion and relief and said, "Yes, we have. Let's report back to the academy and Peppy."

The team drove away from Planet Fortuna and headed back for Corneria, their mission completed.


	5. Star Wolf Returns

**Chapter 4: Star Wolf Returns**

Once Star Fox had departed Planet Fortuna and returned to Corneria, they were greeted by an overjoyed Cornerian Army and General Peppy Hare.

"I knew you guys would take them out! You've managed to destroy a major source that the Tritans used for reproducing. We just have to locate and destroy more of the generators and we should be fine. By the way, the academy and I are working on building a new Great Fox," Peppy said to them.

Fox smiled at his old friend and told him, "I've found some interesting information in a briefcase Pepper gave to Bill before he retired. I have to get to Bill's house before I go after any more Tritans."

Peppy saluted him and said, "Will do. Just be sure to report back so that we can take out more Tritans as soon as possible."

Fox's smile dropped as he informed Peppy, "Andross has come back. He's hiding out on Planet Titania. He wants control of the Tritans so that he can dominate Lylat this time. We've got to take the Tritans out as soon as possible so that we can put a final end to Andross."

Peppy was surprised about Andross still being alive.

"Very well… I'll see you tomorrow. You need some rest tonight!" Peppy said to Fox.

Fox went straight to Bill's cabin to read the last page of the briefcase. But when he knocked on the door, there was no response. Fox called, "Bill? Are you there?"

He tried knocking again. No answer. He peered inside the window of the door and saw a table knocked over. Fox's eyes popped open, and he kicked down the door with all his might. He ran into Bill's cabin to discover that it had been ransacked! He saw tables knocked over, glass shattered on the floor, and a note on the couch. Fox snatched up the note.

It read _Fox! I've been abducted by your arch nemesis team, Star Wolf! They've taken me and the briefcase to their hideout in the Sargasso Space __Region__. I think they're competition for the Tritans' power, too! I've managed to write this note so that you'd find me! Please, you've got to hurry! _Fox understood immediately how grave the situation was. He dashed back to his own cabin to retrieve his gear. Slippy, Falco, and Krystal were waiting for him.

Seeing his friend in a hurry, Falco asked, "What're you up to now, Foxie?"

"Bill Grey's been captured by Star Wolf, along with the briefcase. I'm going to their hideout in the Sargasso Space Area to find them both," Fox informed him.

Krystal stepped forward and said, "Not by yourself, surely! At least I'm going too."

"It's far too dangerous for you to take that risk, Krystal. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to any of you," Fox responded to her.

Slippy retorted, "I resent that! We totally kicked Tritan butt earlier today! If we can take those guys, we can handle Star Wolf too!"

Falco faced Fox and added, "Yeah, the frog's right. I need more action anyways."

Fox faced all three of his teammates and made up his mind.

"Alright. Here's the deal: Falco and I will go and meet Star Wolf directly. Krystal and Slippy, you guys back me and Falco in Arwings," Fox decided.

Slippy spoke up, "Speaking of that, didn't your Arwing get totaled or something?"

Fox answered him, "The academy can give me another one. After we take out Star Wolf and rescue Bill, we finish off these Tritans and then Andross."

"Wait; Andros?!" Falco made sure he was hearing this correctly.

"Yes," Fox confirmed. "He's after the Tritans' power. Let's go!"

Once Fox had collected his new Arwing the academy supplied him with, the Star Fox team flew through outer space in their Arwings. They had been to the Sargasso Space Zone before, when they were looking for Pigma who had stolen the Aparoid core memory. The last time the team had met Star Wolf was when the evil team actually assisted them in fighting the Aparoids. But after all, they probably didn't want the galaxy run by Aparoids either… Fox figured Wolf O'Donnell and his team would return to their nature. Wolf had Panther Caroso and Leon Powalski on his team. Falco and Leon were bitter rivals, while Slippy and Krystal usually went after Panther, and Fox took care of Wolf.

* * *

"All right, Grey. We'll ask you this one more time. Where's the last paper?" Wolf demanded Bill.

Wolf, Panther, and Leon were interrogating Bill for the last piece of paper in the briefcase he was hiding.

Bill nervously replied, "What paper? I don't know what you're talking about…"

Wolf growled and he snapped, "Don't play dumb with me! It'll be your last mistake, dog. Now, where is that last paper?"

Bill rolled his eyes and responded, "Why should I tell the lot of you? You're garbage!"

Wolf signaled to Leon, and Leon viciously kicked Bill down to the ground in his chair. Leon brandished a knife and leaned in on Bill's neck, threatening to slice it open.

Panther spoke up, "Do you think you can tell us this time?"

Bill spat at them and said, "You guys can't kill me! You're all cowards! Even if you did kill me, it wouldn't get you anywhere! Your idiocy astounds me."

Leon raised the knife, ready to kill off Bill. Wolf motioned his hand in the air for Leon to stop. Wolf thought Bill might be bluffing, but he didn't want him dead.

Just then, two Arwings slid inside the Sargasso Hideout and collided against the far wall. Fox and Falco jumped out of the cockpits. They ran up to the Star Wolf members.

"Well, look who it is! It's Fox and his cocky friend! Boy, am I gonna have fun," Wolf said as he grinned mischievously.

Fox threw his body weight into Wolf, sending him backwards. Falco immediately engaged in combat with Leon. Falco sent a mean backhand at Leon's face. The next thing Falco did was knock the knife out of Leon's hand. Leon staggered back as Falco spun around and unleashed a deadly kick into Leon's center, sending the lizard backwards some distance

Panther called in over the intercom, "Get reinforcement ships out there! We don't want Fox and Falco giving us too much trouble here."

But before enemy ships could get destroy Fox and Falco's Arwings, Krystal and Slippy came and shot down the enemy. Some of the Sargasso ruffians rushed in with machine guns, shooting at Fox and Falco.

Falco called in over his communicator to Krystal and Slippy, "Um, guys? As long as you've finished off the bad guys out there, couldn't you come in here and give us a hand?"

The next moment Slippy ran down some of the ruffians with his Arwing while Krystal parked hers neatly aside the battle. They both jumped out and started helping with the fight. Fox threw a strong punch at Wolf's face, causing him to say, "Now you've done it!"

Wolf returned the favor by giving Fox a hard kick and clawed his chest. Fox clutched on to his hurting chest, while Wolf laughed in victory. Fox took advantage of the Wolf's cockiness and kicked him as hard as he could from behind. Wolf tumbled forward as Fox lunged at him and delivered a ruthless punch to his stomach and another merciless kick to crack Wolf's ribs.

In the meantime, Leon was mounting a comeback against Falco. Leon kept punching and kicking Falco like a punching bag. Falco put an end to it when he took Leon's fist and threw him into a stack of boxes. Leon got up dizzily, not being able to see his surroundings clearly. Falco gave a final roundhouse kick to end Leon's threat, knocking him out. Krystal and Slippy were fighting against the henchmen while Panther was about to make his escape in his Wolfen-ship. The whole time, Bill was just hiding behind some old crates.

Panther felt a cold gun on against his head. Falco said, "You're not goin' anywhere, cat."

Fox raised his own blaster to Wolf, saying, "We've got you trapped, Wolf. Surrender now."

Wolf raised his hands in the air and said, "Don't you dare think for one moment that you know any more information than us. We already knew Andross was still alive on Titania, though. We were going to give him the briefcase and Bill for a handsome price. He sent a troop over to Corneria to subdue you. We know all about their weakness now. The metal. We can contact Andross and he'll beat you to the chase."

Fox stepped in on Wolf closer with his gun and said, "Not if we lock you goons up in jail like we should. Or we could just blow you and your whole base up. Think about it that way."

Wolf smiled at his increasingly high-quality opponent.

"You know, I think you're getting better. You took my advice well," Wolf said to Fox.

Fox asked, "What? Do you mean don't hesitate? When the time comes, just act?"

Wolf grinned again and replied, "Yeah. So, is it jail, or death?"

Fox leaned in closer to his arch rival and said, "Everyone knows that you deserve death. You're lucky that's not my style, Wolf. I'm going to lock you away in a jail you'll never get out of and blow up this whole blasted base afterwards."

The Star Wolf team all got down on their knees and raised their hands above their heads for mercy. Fox thought to himself, _These scumbags are thugs. Who cares about them? They deserve to waste away and rot… _The newly repaired Great Fox came into the base, driven none other than Peppy.

Fox called, "Peppy? What are you doing?"

Peppy called back, "I heard you had your hands full. Krystal contacted me. So I came to take out the trash."

Fox grinned back at the retired Star Fox member and took the Star Wolf team away into the Great Fox, followed by Falco, Krystal, and Slippy, who dragged Bill (holding the briefcase) behind.

Once they were all in and headed off into their main ship, Fox ordered to Peppy, "Blow up the base. I never want to hear from this place again."

Peppy nodded at him and launched a giant bomb at the base. The whole entire base seemed to explode into a mini-supernova, some ruffians still inside. It had been a hideout for low-life criminals, under rule by Wolf.

Fox turned to Wolf and said, "I hope you didn't plan on getting away this time, Wolf. You're not going anywhere for some time."

Wolf sighed and replied, "I can still contact Andross with my communicator."

Fox snatched the communicator device from Wolf's belt and smashed it by throwing it on the floor.

"Niiiice…" Leon said sarcastically to Wolf.

Panther punched Leon in the shoulder and said, "Shut up, lizard-boy!"

Leon retorted back, "Why don't you make me?"

Fox turned to both of them and spat, "Would you all just shut your traps? I could have let you die in that explosion! Do you all just take everything you get for granted? I have half a mind to have you all killed!"

Krystal turned to Fox and said, "Fox! Don't be so hard on them. Just because they're villains doesn't mean that we have to treat them like trash."

Fox shot back at Krystal, "They are trash! Don't you get it? These low-life scumbags think that they can do whatever they want! But they can't!"

Once they arrived back on Corneria, Fox was sure to lock Wolf and his team up in solitary confinement as soon as he could. Bill safely got back to his cabin with the briefcase still intact. It was quite fortunate the whole mission had been a successs.

Wolf said to Fox, "You know we'll be out of here sooner than you anticipate, Fox. You shouldn't underestimate Star Wolf."

Fox replied angrily, "And you shouldn't underestimate my hatred against an annoyance like you."

Once Fox returned to his cabin, he knew something wasn't right. He had never been so angry in his whole life. Not at anyone… Was it the adrenaline of fighting all the time? Or maybe it was just the stress of it… All he knew was that he wasn't feeling right and that he had never been so mad at anyone in his whole life. He went to apologize to Krystal for yelling at her earlier.

"Krystal, look. I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier and everything… I didn't mean to make you upset or anything. I'm extremely sorry. I know you shouldn't forgive me. I just… overreacted…" Fox apologized to his teammate.

Krystal turned to face Fox and said, "It's all right, Fox… we all get angry sometimes."

Fox looked down and said, "There's something else I gotta tell you. Um…"

"Yes, Fox?" Krystal asked him.

Fox finally got up his courage and asked, "Would you go out with me tonight?"

Krystal looked up at her captain with shining eyes and replied, "Why, I would love to! Where would we go?"

"Uh, anywhere you want to. As long as I can make it up to you, about earlier…" Fox responded to her.

Krystal said, "Fox that sounds great! How about 8:00 tonight?"

Fox smiled, and answered, "That sounds wonderful, Krystal. I'll see you later."

Krystal said goodbye next. The truth of it was, Fox tried to ask Krystal out on a date as easily as he could. He wondered if she knew exactly what his intent was. He went to Bill's house to finally read the last page.

Once he was inside, Bill chuckled and said, "Those fools… I hid the last page under the couch cushion!"

Fox laughed and replied, "I knew you'd figure something out, Bill!"

Bill laughed again heartily.

"Well, I still got it. Anyways, are you ready for the last page?" Bill asked Fox.

Fox shrugged and said, "Ready as I'll ever be."

Bill revealed the page underneath his couch and read for the last time.

"'_To whom it may concern,_

_This is James McCloud, the former captain of Star Fox. I have managed to escape the dreaded Andross. He locked me away in a jail, but he never ended up killing me. He tortured me first, but I managed to escape it all. I knew my son Fox would be concerned. I contacted General Pepper about my fortunate survival. He informed my old friend Peppy and no one else. I didn't want my son looking for me just yet before he had business like Andross to take care of. But now, whoever reads this letter, please be sure to inform my son, Fox McCloud, that I am alive and well. I am taking refuge on Planet Katina. But first, be sure that Fox stops the evil Tritans and Andross. It would be tragic if anything seriously terrible happened to my boy or the galaxy. I am so proud of you, Fox. I hope you will know that.'"_

_-James McCloud_


	6. The Date

**Chapter 5: The Date**

Fox and Bill were both surprised to see that the last document was just a letter from Fox's dad.

"I can't believe it… My father is still alive," Fox muttered.

Bill added, "And he's doing just fine. Are you going to go look for him after you finish off the Tritans and Andross?"

Fox turned to his friend and gave Bill a hopeful look.

"Yes. I have to find my uncle to get that formula though. Tonight I've got a date," Fox said.

Bill's eyes popped and he asked, "With Krystal?"

Fox replied, "Yeah… how did you know?"

Bill grinned at his friend.

"You guys are the perfect pair, you know that? I'm sure you'll have a great time," Bill remarked.

"Yah, I guess. I just wanted to give her a nice night," Fox said.

Bill said, "Well then, goodnight. I guess I'll see you at the academy sometime later. And thanks for saving me from that cold-hearted wolf!"

Fox assured him, "Don't worry about it. It's part of my job. I'll see you later then!"

Bill waved and shouted as Fox left, "Goodbye!"

Fox returned to his cabin to wear a tuxedo for the occasion. He had always loved Krystal deep inside of his heart. He just thought that he would never have the courage to ask her out on a date. He admired Krystal's beauty and thought that she was special; however, what Fox admired most was her kind and gentle spirit. Her personality was truly the most beautiful thing about her… He continued to think about her for a long time before 8:00 arrived.

Fox didn't normally wear anything else other than his khaki uniform on his missions. But he wanted to at least look his best for the occasion around Krystal. When he got out of his cabin nervously, he saw Krystal emerge from hers, wearing a beautiful white dress. It reminded him of a dress that his mother used to wear… Fox felt a tear form in his eye as he thought about his dead mother. He never even got to really know her…

Fox stammered as he commented, "Wow, Krystal. You look… beautiful…"

Krystal blushed and complemented back, "And you look very handsome yourself, Fox! So, where should we go?"

Fox looked around for a few moments.

"Uh… wherever you want to, Krystal…" Fox told her.

Krystal smiled and suggested, "Let's walk around the city."

Fox and Krystal leisurely strolled around the beautiful nighttime city of Corneria, loving and savoring every moment. Krystal truly loved Fox back just as much as he loved her. They just never got to really get to know each other, being busy with their missions and everything.

"It's a beautiful night," Fox said to Krystal.

Krystal smiled with pleasure and agreed, "Yes. It is really pretty. I don't even remember my home planet, Cerinia. I wonder if it was anything like Corneria…"

"My father James, he left a letter in Bill's briefcase. He's still alive on Planet Katina," Fox suddenly said to Krystal.

Krystal hugged Fox and cheered, "Oh, that's wonderful! I'm so excited for you! When will you visit him?"

"As soon as I can finish off the Tritans and Andross; then hopefully I can get a vacation," Fox replied.

The couple laughed and moved on. Fox and Krystal sauntered around the city, knowing they had all the time in the world that night. They took breaks and rested on benches, sometimes just enjoying the beautiful scenery. There were many bright, flashy advertisements to admire around you at daytime and nighttime in Corneria. Fox and Krystal had the time of their lives, just walking around with no enemies or no threats to worry about. Ever since the time Fox and Krystal had gone to Planet Sauria to fend off the Aparoids, they had not spent any time together. And that was a mission…

At one point, Fox just stopped walking at a nearby bridge. Krystal paused to see Fox just standing there.

"What's the matter, Fox?" Krystal asked.

Fox responded, "Krystal… I have to confess to you…"

Krystal looked confused and asked, "What do you mean?"

Fox looked up at his teammate and said, "I have feelings for you… I love you more than I let on. Ever since I rescued you on Sauria, I think I've always loved you…"

Krystal seemed slightly surprised initially, but just moved in closer to her love.

"Fox… you don't have to confess anything to me. I've always loved you just as much. I knew you were special as soon as you came to my aid, and took me in… so kind, and caring…" Krystal said.

Fox looked up at Krystal and asked, "Really?"

Krystal smiled at Fox and started to lean in on him. Fox got the clue and came toward her. Suddenly, the two embraced in a passionate kiss, out of the instinct of their love. All the emotions they had held within themselves were finally let out in the gesture, showing each other how much they cared for one another.

Once they finished, Fox said, "I wish I could stay with you tomorrow."

Krystal opened her eyes and hugged Fox tightly, asking, "Why can't you?"

"Because I've got to rescue my uncle…" Fox responded.

Krystal seemed surprised for a minute, and then said, "I thought you didn't have any relatives?"

Fox scratched the back of his head, clarifying, "Well, actually, I just found that out. He has an antidote that will help us beat the Tritans. I think that the Tritans captured him…"

"Be safe then, Fox," Krystal said to her love, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'll be back before you know it," Fox said to Krystal.

Krystal kissed Fox lightly on the cheek and replied, "Just make sure that you're safe. I need you to come back."

Fox smiled at Krystal with an unprecedented, passionate love. He never thought he could let her go after professing his love to her. He was just excited to find his father and meet his long-lost uncle. The biggest relief was finding out that Krystal loved Fox back just as much as he loved her. That was one of the best nights Fox and Krystal had ever had in their lives, finally aware of the sweet truth…


	7. Rescue on Planet Fichina

**Chapter 6: Rescue on Planet Fichina**

Krystal was quite reluctant to let Fox go on the rescue mission by himself, or better yet, letting him go anywhere at all!

"Don't worry, Krystal. I'll come back and everything will be fine," Fox explained to her.

Krystal thought about it for a hard moment, and then said, "I guess… I just hope nothing bad happens…"

Fox laughed heartily and replied, "Everything's gonna be just fine, Krystal! I'll come back soon."

Fox set off for the academy to find the location of Steven. He knew for sure that if he found him, the Tritans would hopefully be as good as gone. Fox's heart was set on it. Not to mention, he could tell Steven all about everything ever since he had disappeared. Fox went into the research facility again to see Beltino and Peppy gathered around at a computer.

"What are you doing?" Fox asked them.

Beltino turned around, slightly startled.

The old frog replied, "We were just looking for more of those generators on the radar. When did you get here?"

Fox said, "Never mind that. Hey, the info's not blocked this time!"

Beltino sighed and explained, "That's because Andross isn't currently looking at it."

"How did you know about Andross?" Fox asked Beltino.

Beltino responded, "Peppy told me after you told him. Yes, it's quite unfortunate he's back… Anyways, how come you're here?"

Fox explained, "I need to locate Steven McCloud. He's my father's brother. I think the Tritans have kidnapped him. In Bill's briefcase, it said that my dad's father gave the formula to defeat the Tritans to Steven. I know that they are weak against metal, but that's about it. And my father's still alive on Planet Katina, doing fine. He wrote me a letter."

Beltino just stood there, jaw-dropped; it was just like Bill's reaction. How could he believe that James had a brother and that James was still alive? Peppy had known, of course, but he never told Beltino. Beltino just rubbed his eyes and finally said, "Well, then. There's no time to waste. Let's see here…"

Beltino typed into his keyboard, _Steven McCloud. _The computer loaded a moment, and then a diagram of Steven's location appeared.

Beltino turned around to face Fox from his chair and told him, "He's on Planet Fichina. I believe he's in a Tritan base. You'll have to be extremely careful over there."

"I've got to find him at all costs," Fox said to Beltino. "If I don't, we may never get rid of the Tritans. I'm going solo on this one."

Beltino gravely nodded and replied, "Very well. I've found another Tritan threat coming from Planet Sauria, too. The Cornerian Military and your friends can take them out there. Good luck on your mission."

Fox left as soon as he could in his new Arwing, ready to meet his uncle. It seemed so weird, being somewhat nervous, excited, and cautious. Fox just knew that he needed the antidote and that was that. He hoped that the EarthWalker tribe and his old pal Tricky would be all right on Sauria. He was sure that the team and the military could take care of any Tritans there, though. He just hoped that he could end it all soon….

Fichina was a barren, ice-planet with very few inhabitants; it was difficult to survive here. The last time the team had been there was when Pigma had taken control of the climate control center during the Aparoid Invasion. Fox didn't care much for the planet himself. He had managed to pinpoint the exact location of the Tritan base on his radar after scanning it from the computer's info. He hoped that he wouldn't have to fight too many Tritans. After all, he just came to save Steven…

Once Fox saw that he was in the exact location of the base, he couldn't see it! Fox thought for a moment. _Maybe the base is hidden… _Then he thought aloud, "It must be underground!" Fox realized the whole entire time he had been hovering above it! He took his Arwing below and saw a thin opening into a cave. He knew his ship couldn't fit inside, so he just landed it outside. He took out his blaster and headed into the cave.

When Fox was inside of the base, he realized that he was all alone. There was no one there… Then he thought, _It's just the first section. There's got to be more rooms… _Fox searched around left and right, just to double-check that no one else was there. Then he saw a tiny crack in between two boulders just ahead of him. He dashed to the small opening and saw a middle-aged fox surrounded by a few Tritans. The Tritan creatures had weapons installed into their bodies, it seemed. Fox could see a cannon-like arm on one of them. He knew that the fox had to be Steven, his uncle. Fox searched around the room for a way to get inside of Steven's room. There had to be a way inside… Then, directly above him, he saw a small cave! He climbed his way up and crawled through the uncomfortable, lean cave, icicles surrounding him.

When Fox had gotten most of the way there, he noticed a small piece of paper lying around. He snatched it up to see random letterings scribbled all over it. It must've been some kind of parchment written in Tritan language… Fox stashed it away in his pocket just in case and continued down the path. When he finally got to an angle above the Tritans and Steven, he could see that there were five Tritans. First Fox looked around for cover below, knowing that they'd probably spot him immediately from above after he shot one. They weren't all too smart in ships, but Fox had experienced their real capabilities on Fortuna. Then he noticed a medium-sized ice-wall growing out of the ground.

Fox took out his gun and started rapidly firing at one of the Tritans. Before the others noticed where he was, Fox managed to destroy the one he had shot at. But after that, the Tritans started firing even faster at him with their weapons. Fox jumped down from the ledge as fast as he could and untied his uncle, taking him behind him behind the wall. The Tritans kept firing at the structure Fox and Steven hid behind, trying to weaken it. And it was working… Fox realized that he had to act fast. He stuck his hand out of the side of the wall and fired faster than before at another. He managed to kill that one too before the others started firing more.

Fox knew that the remaining three would probably be able to destroy his wall before he could kill them… Steven looked up at Fox and asked, "Who are you and what are you doing?!"

Fox turned to him quickly and answered, "I'll tell you in just a minute. For now, just hang on tight."

Now Fox jumped above the wall to confuse them somewhat, giving him the chance to blow up another. Now there were two remaining… He noticed that only one had a gun… The other one charged at Fox and Steven and broke the wall by simply running into it. The bare-handed Tritan whacked Fox across the room with its arm.

Fox tossed his blaster to Steven and said, "Here! Use this against the other one!" Steven caught the pistol and started firing and avoiding the other Tritan.

Meanwhile, Fox was having a difficult time with the combatant Tritan. When the Tritan tried to whack Fox with his arm again, Fox caught it and threw a fast punch into the face of Tritan. He noticed that it was slightly sensitive in its face area. Interesting…. Before Fox let the Tritan get loose again, he slid his leg into the Tritan's leg to trip it over.

Fox dashed from there to find anything that might kill the Tritan… He noticed a small, metal tool lying around on the ground. He thought that Steven must have brought it… Good thing. Fox picked it up fast and returned to the awaiting Tritan. The Tritan lunged at Fox with all its might. Fox simply side-stepped and when the Tritan turned back around to face Fox, Fox stabbed the Tritan in the eye with the metal stick.

The Tritan stumbled backwards, and it screamed in pain as it fell to the ground, dead. Fox grinned with success and used his attention on Steven and the last Tritan. He saw that Steven had managed to shoot him enough times with Fox's blaster.

Steven threw Fox's gun back to him and said, "Alright. Now, may I please have some answers?"

Fox scratched the back of his head and began, "Well, it's a really long story. I'm your brother's son. My father and your brother's name is James McCloud. My name's Fox. My mother died when I was very young. I heard that my grandfather gave you the antidote to stop the Tritans; they have a strange weakness to metal. James was thought to have been killed by Andross but survived and is still alive on Planet Katina. How do I know all of this? It was given to a friend of mine in a briefcase. He received it from General Pepper, now retired and soon going to die."

Steven seemed impressed with all of the knowledge from his newly met nephew.

"Well, you sure do know a lot there, don't you?" Steven said to Fox.

Fox smiled at his uncle and informed him, "We've got to go back to Planet Corneria so that you can give us that antidote."

Steven paced around the room and explained, "I have the formula paper for it right here in my pocket. I managed to fit a small dosage of the stuff in my other pocket. The Tritans are smarter than they appear. They knew I had their weakness and took me as their hostage here. The substance is mainly made of some metal scraps and mercury. It can do quite a lot of damage, really…"

Fox nodded and said, "We've got to leave immediately. I'm sure my friends are still on Planet Sauria fighting off more Tritans, but we've got to get back to Corneria and make more of that stuff after we give the sample and formula to the research director, Beltino Toad. Just hop into the backseat of my Arwing and hang on tight."


	8. Saving Sauria and Returning to Corneria

**Chapter 7: Saving Sauria and Returning to Corneria**

Sauria was a beautiful, jungle/forest-like planet. It had many temples, rivers, marshes, waterfalls, and was highly0vegetated. The Corneria Military forces and Star Fox (excluding Fox) were easily taking out the Tritan forces on Planet Sauria. Peppy and Krystal drove in the Great Fox while Slippy and Falco flew in their Arwings.

"This is way too easy! I eat this kind of scum for breakfast!" Falco said to Peppy over the intercom.

"Yah, I just wonder how many more Tritans will come before we find the antidote…" Slippy thought aloud.

Peppy assured them, "I'm sure Fox is safe on Fichina. For now, let's not worry about him; we need to focus on the task at hand.

Krystal thought in deep silence for a moment, than realized, "We still haven't found the generator. Who knows how many Tritans could still be left?"

Just then, Peppy, ROB, and Krystal noticed a large red dot appearing on the radar. ROB confirmed, "The generator's location has been confirmed."

Peppy put the Great Fox into a faster gear and headed down to the generator's location.

"We've got your back, guys!" Slippy said to Peppy and Krystal.

"Yah, but don't be whiny if we have to fend for ourselves, too," Falco joked to them.

Falco and Slippy took out a good percentage of the Tritan ships around the Great Fox and ahead of them. They noticed some Cornerian ships had been shot down. That didn't slow the Star Fox team in the slightest… Once they reached the generator, they noticed that it was larger and more complex than the last…

Krystal and I will take out the generator. You two shoot down all of the generator's weapons or any more Tritan ships it might shoot out," Peppy instructed to Falco and Slippy.

Slippy responded, "Will do, Peppy!"

Peppy and Krystal approached their battle with a timed bomb launched into the generator's center. The generator didn't know what they were trying to do, but responded aggressively anyways.

"Hold on tight!" Peppy instructed as he violently steered the heavy ship to the right.

The numerous missiles and lasers that the generator launched at the Great Fox fortunately missed. The generator sent out two Tritan ships, which immediately went after Falco and Slippy in their Arwings.

Falco said to Slippy, "I'll take one of them, and you get the other."

Slippy nodded and said, "Got it."

At least the Cornerian Military could handle the Tritans behind them. Otherwise, they couldn't destroy them all; the generation had had the chance to produce many ships before they arrived. Falco and Slippy took care of the new two Tritans while Peppy and Krystal shot at the generator, weakening it. Before they could activate the bomb, they wanted to lessen the generator's strength. After Falco and Slippy shot down the two Tritan ships, they heard Peppy say, "I'm going to detonate the bomb!"

Falco and Slippy reversed their Arwings and flew back toward the rest of the military and Tritans to help finish the rest. Peppy reversed the Great Fox, and triggered the bomb by shooting a laser directly at it. As soon as he shot the bomb, the entire generator blew up, while producing a Tritan (destroying that too). Peppy grinned and said to Krystal, "Great! All we have to do now is take out the remaining Tritans!"

* * *

And sure enough, Peppy and the rest managed to rid Planet Sauria of the evil Tritans. By this time, Fox and Steven had arrived back on Corneria, ready to give Beltino the formula and sample. They briskly walked inside of the famous research facility once more, heading straight down to Beltino. They observed Beltino sitting on his chair at his computer, seeming to be waiting for something.

Fox asked him, "What's the matter?"

Beltino stared up at Fox hopelessly.

"Star Wolf broke out of jail…" He explained gloomily as he shut his eyes somewhat ashamedly.

Fox replied, "That's nothing to worry about right now, Beltino. We'll find them again some other time. Right now, my uncle and I have some interesting stuff."

Beltino smiled, his cheer restored, and said, "Ah, yes! You're Fox's uncle!"

Steven stepped forward and shook Beltino's hand.

"I'm Steven McCloud," he introduced himself.

Beltino said, "Yes, I see. Now then, what is it you've brought me?"

Steven nodded and said, "The formula to stopping the Tritans, and a sample of it. After my father Henry gave the formula to me, I set off in Lylat, seeking out a job. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one anywhere. And when I was about to starve to death, the Tritans kidnapped me, knowing that I had the antidote. They barely kept me alive with minimal food and water, making sure I couldn't pose as a threat to them. They can sense danger from so far away. In fact, we better start making more of this stuff fast. Pretty soon, the Tritans will be able to sense that we're on Corneria!"

Beltino nodded gravely.

"Well, there's no time to waste, now is there?" Beltino said.

Steven gave Beltino the paper with the formula on it while handing him the sample in his other hand.

"Ah, excellent! This sample will help a lot, too," Beltino remarked.

After Beltino collected Steven's stuff, Fox dug out the parchment he had found in the cave on Fichina. He handed it to Beltino and told him, "I found this on Fichina at the Tritan base. What does it mean?"

Beltino took the paper from Fox's hand and observed that it was written in Tritan language.

"I'm going to have to have the translator identify this, Fox. In the meantime, let's get some of that antidote ready!" Beltino said.

A few minutes later, Peppy, Slippy, Falco, Krystal, and the military arrived back at the academy.

Peppy stated, "It's good to be reunited again. Anyways, did you get the formula and everything?"

Beltino grinned and answered, "Oh, yes. We're just in the process of making more of it! As soon as I can identify the last of the ingredients in here…"

"It's mainly made up of metal scrapings and mercury," Stephen spoke.

Peppy, Slippy, Falco, and Krystal turned to face Steven. They knew from the instant they saw that he was a fox that he must be Fox's uncle.

Peppy stepped forward first and said, "Hello, there. I'm Peppy Hare. I was close friends with your brother, James."

Peppy and Steven shook hands, while Slippy stepped up for his turn.

"I'm Slippy Toad! You were just talking to my dad! You're my friend's uncle!" Slippy said.

Steven shook his hand as well.

Falco spoke up for himself and Krystal, "Likewise for us, Mr. McCloud. I'm Falco Lombardi and this is Krystal."

As Steven finished up shaking their hands too, Beltino shouted to the facility, "We need metal and mercury, and a lot of it!"

It took about two days for the academy to get enough supplies and make plenty of the stuff. Once they were finished, they started loading guns and ships up with it. Hopefully, they could end this conflict once and for all soon…


	9. The Final Confrontation?

**Chapter 8: The Final Confrontation?**

The following day, Beltino confirmed that an enormous Tritan army was marching in straight for Corneria. Steven had been right; the Tritans found them. There could be no underestimating their intelligence…

Beltino said to Star Fox, "It looks like every single last Tritan has come here to attack us!"

Peppy scratched his chin and wondered, "How do you suppose they came here?"

Steven came forward and answered him, "Like I said before, they can sense the antidote source coming from this planet."

"Darn!" Slippy exclaimed.

"Everyone, relax," Fox said to all of them. "We'll be fine. But whether we're ready or not to face them, we've got to."

Falco turned to his friend.

"You know you're right. Let's put these creeps to an end!"

Fox grinned at his friend's confidence. He faced the rest and asked, "How about the rest of you?"

Slippy stepped forward and said, "I'm totally in!"

Krystal came next and said, "Let's do it, Fox!"

"I'm with all of you! If James taught me anything, it was to never give up!" Peppy said last.

Fox now knew that his father was alive on Katina from the letter, and was going to go find him after he finished off the Tritans and Andross. He still wondered how Andross could have possibly survived after their last encounter when he threatened Sauria… Fox had completely blown him up! How was it possible?

The Star Fox team and Cornerian Army departed their home, ready for the final confrontation in space. Fox, Slippy, Falco, and Krystal started off in the Great Fox with ROB and Peppy. Steven and Beltino traveled along in the Great Fox.

Beltino straightened his glasses and remarked, "Well, this is it, gang."

"Yah, no turning back now…" Slippy commented.

"Let's do this thing!" Falco shouted.

The gang saw the vast battalion of Tritan ships up ahead. There were hundreds of them, maybe a thousand… Peppy turned around to face the team.

"Are you all ready?" He asked them.

Fox shut his eyes gravely and assured him, "Ready."

Peppy nodded solemnly and said, "There are four generators total. This must be the last of the Tritans. A lot of the ships are targeting the Orbital Gate again. The remaining are still headed for Corneria. ROB, Beltino, Steven, and I will drive the Great Fox. We'll try to destroy a generator or two. The military will mainly be protecting the gate. Good luck."

Slippy stood up and remarked, "Hey, I thought you were going to retire!"

Peppy laughed and said, "Just because I'm gonna retire from the team doesn't mean I'm not going to help as the general."

Fox said to Peppy, "Wait. You knew that General Pepper was going to die, right? It was in Bill's briefcase. Is he still alive?"

Peppy shrugged and told him, "I don't know, Fox. He left Corneria the day he retired. No one knows where he is right now…"

Fox announced, "Well, we'd best be off now."

Peppy saluted his friend and said, "Good luck again, keep your wits about you, and like I said before; never give up, and trust your instincts."

Fox, Falco, Krystal, and Slippy dashed through the ship's corridor to the hangar containing the Arwings. Just like old times… It brought back memories to Fox when they going to stop Oikonny and his fleet. Only this time, these Tritans were a much larger threat…

The teammates jumped into their Arwings, ready for take-off. Peppy called in, "Launch all ships!" The hangar hatch opened, and the four Arwings took off into the battle.

They could see that the military and some Tritan ships had already begun to start fighting. The team wasted not a moment of time, steering their ships closer to the Tritans. War had commenced…

"Alright. Slippy and I will take out the generator on the far left. Falco and Krystal, you guys take the far right. The military should be protecting the gate. Good luck," Fox said.

Fox and Slippy headed right, avoiding enemy fire as best as they could from numerous Tritans. Fox and Slippy fired back at some of the ships and managed to eradicate a few. They moved on and eventually reached the generator. Once they arrived they saw that Falco and Krystal had safely reached the far right generator. But after checking on their friends, Fox and Slippy knew that they couldn't use up any more time on anything else.

Slippy launched a smart bomb at the generator, practically destroying it immediately. But it was partially still alive, and started to shoot out some Tritan ships. Fox rapidly used his laser-fire on the generator, barely able to kill it before it shot out another Tritan. Fox and Slippy exchanged sides and took out the leftover Tritan ships.

By now Fox and Slippy could see the Great Fox heading towards the generator next to Falco and Krystal. They saw that they had been able to destroy the generator on their side. _This is easier than I thought it would be! _Fox thought. From there, Falco and Krystal started destroying some of the Tritan ships on the battlefield. Fox and Slippy saw that the military needed help protecting the gate. It looked like the Tritans were about to enter the gate. If they escaped through the gate, they'd never catch them! Fox and Slippy used the highest gear on their Arwings and rushed theirs ships over to the gate while Peppy was working on the other generator.

Fox and Slippy immediately started shooting at the enemies closest to entering the gate. The Tritans behind the first ones in line noticed they were being ambushed and spotted Fox and Slippy.

"Quick, run!" Fox shouted to Slippy over the intercom.

Fox and Slippy split apart, the gunfire of the Tritans piercing through a now empty space that Fox and Slippy had used to be in. Fox moved towards the back of the line of Tritans, saying to Slippy, "I'll take half of them back here. You team up with the military and be sure to take out the ones in front."

"Alright," Slippy replied.

Fox shot out a smart bomb towards a few Tritans sticking together in the back. A few of them blew up, sending flying debris all over the area. Fox barely managed to avoid the broken ship pieces and shot at the remaining ships in the back. Meanwhile, Slippy seemed to have hardly any trouble shooting at the Tritans in front with the remaining military ships. Once Fox and Slippy cleared the Orbital Gate of the Tritans, they saw that Peppy had destroyed a generator and was working with Falco and Krystal to destroy the enemy on the battlefield.

Fox, Slippy, and the Cornerian Military all joined in to help clean up the remaining Tritans on the battlefield. It wasn't that easy from there on out… They lost many of the military ships; eventually, there were only a few Tritans and military ships left… After everyone had destroyed the Tritans, there were not a ton of military ships left! They moved in for the last generator dead ahead of them. This was it… With the Great Fox, the four Arwings, and the few military ships firing at the generator, there wasn't much of a good outcome for the Tritans. The generator had plenty of time to spit out some more Tritans though, giving everyone some more ships to worry about. After they destroyed the generator and the last of the Tritans, they were sure that they had won…

Fox cleared his throat and commented, "Well, that was long…"

"It was easy! We totally destroyed 'em!" Falco remarked.

Krystal said, "Yes, but how do you suppose they originally came about?"

Just then, a colossal creature appeared before them, with multiple cannons attached to it.

Peppy just stared at the sight and remarked, "Oh my…"

Steven came forward slowly and approached Peppy. Steven raised his gun above Peppy and brought it down on his head, knocking him the rabbit out cold! ROB and Beltino gasped and ran away from Steven, since they were unarmed. However, Steven shot Beltino in the leg, resulting in the toad doubling over in pain. Steven stepped forward to Beltino and retrieved the paper with the Tritan words on it.

"I'll take that," Steven said and started piloting the Great Fox himself.

"It must be the leader of the Tritans or something…" Fox guessed.

Falco, for the first time, lost his temper. He said, "That thing is huge! How in Lylat do we stop it?!"

Slippy laughed and said, "Wow! The mighty Falco looses his cool. This should go on the front page tomorrow!"

Falco grumbled and replied, "Shut up, frog! This is no time for jokes!"

"Both of you, calm down. What's the plan, Fox?" Krystal asked.

Fox closed his eyes in thought for a moment, and then said, "We use everything we've got. All of our bombs, our laser fire, and strength."

Without any more talking, all of them rushed at the giant Tritan and started firing everything they had. Smart Bombs, timed bombs, laser-fire, and some even committed suicide by driving their ships straight into the thing. Some more of the military ships from Corneria came to the scene, luckily.

The thing was so tough! Everything they sent at it seemed to barely effect it…

"Peppy, we need to use a huge shot containing the antidote!" Fox called.

No response. Fox became worried.

"What should we do, Fox?" Krystal asked again.

Fox responded, "Keep at it! I'll help out in just a second."

He called again, "Peppy! ROB! Beltino! Are you there?"

Fox heard a chuckle, then a response, "I'm afraid your friends won't be responding any time soon!"

Fox gasped and realized that the voice came from his uncle.

Fox asked, "Steven? What have you done?"

He heard another roar of laughter and Steven replied, "I'm afraid you won't be able to destroy the King of the Tritans. Without my formula, you can't do it!"

Fox suddenly became very confused and demanded, "Why are you doing this?"

Steven responded, "For a nice profit and to unite with the greatest power Lylat will ever know, Andross! You're too late, Fox! You can't do anything to prevent it. You have no leads, and Star Wolf has escaped!"

Fox growled and retorted, "You bet we do! We already know Andross is on Planet Titania!"

Steven laughed repugnantly and said, "No he's not, you idiot! He'd never make it that obvious for you! And I'm not James's brother; I just pretended to be him so that you would fall for the trap, and I could capture these fools! Andross managed to steal the formula from the real Steven a long time ago; I found out everything I could about him, so that I could fool you into thinking I was your uncle."

Fox growled again.

"But when we searched specifically for Steven McCloud, all we found was you!" Fox said.

"I changed my identity to 'Steven McCloud'; your uncle is dead! Anyway, hopefully you won't miss these guys so much! You'd better pray Andross keeps them alive!" Stephen cackled.

Fox exclaimed, "How dare you! How could you do this?"

Steven drove away in the Great Fox at full speed. Then Fox noticed that the Tritan King had escaped too, during the conversation.

"He got away!" Slippy reported the obvious.

Fox told them, "That's not even close to the worst. Steven turned out to be a traitor! I'll bet he's heading to Titania to find Andross; he was probably bluffing earlier! And if not, we have no other leads right now. He's going to hand the Tritan King over to Andross and kill Peppy and Beltino, too! We've got to go to Titania, now!"


	10. A New Beginning

**Chapter 9: A New Beginning**

Everyone was paralyzed for a moment about what had just happened. They had lost everything. They tried to attack the heart of the enemy, but they failed… Now that Steven had the Tritan King, he and Andross could create a new army of Tritans! Andross would try to dominate Lylat again. And this time, he had a better chance of succeeding… Fox's first command had been to fly to Titania, so that's what everyone did.

* * *

Titania was a harsh, desert planet, the surface completely covered in sand. Fox was ready to get some answers (how had Andross been revived, would they kill Peppy and Beltino, was Star Wolf with them, did they know about James?). Fox felt pretty uneasy about the whole situation. How could he have fallen for Steven's ploy?

Once they were on Titania, Fox instructed, "Krystal and I will check south. Slippy and Falco check north. The rest of you, split east and west."

Krystal went alongside Fox in their Arwings through a horrid sandstorm.

"I hope we'll be in time…" Krystal said with some worry in her voice.

"Don't worry, Krystal. We'll be fine," Fox assured her.

Krystal suddenly said, "I wonder if Tricky is all right…"

"I thought you and the rest went to Sauria. Didn't you see him?" Fox asked.

"No; we didn't have time," Krystal explained.

"We'll check on him when we're finished with this mess," Fox replied.

Krystal nodded and kept on driving next to Fox, in search of the base. They both kept moving forward, hoping to see something.

"Do you remember our night out?" Krystal suddenly asked Fox.

Fox sat in silence for a moment, then responded, "Yes, why?"

Krystal replied, "It was a beautiful night, Fox. You really love me, right?"

Fox smiled to himself.

"I love you, Krystal; I would die for you. I want you to know that I sincerely do have feelings for you, like I said that night," Fox answered from the bottom of his heart.

Krystal smiled and said, "That means a lot, Fox. I hope you know that I have feelings for you, too."

They kept on traveling in bliss, happy to know that they both cared for each other in the same way. It had been a big relief to both of them to find out the fortunate truth of their love.

After a few more minutes of travel, they saw a large building up ahead.

"That must be the base!" Krystal realized.

Fox nodded and called in over the intercom, "We've found it. South of us."

Moments later after Fox and Krystal parked their ships on a platform near the entrance, the military, Falco, and Slippy arrived. Perhaps Stephen had bluffed after all? Or maybe not?

Slippy said, "I don't see the Great Fox…"

Fox pulled out his blaster and instructed, "Everyone behind me."

Everyone kept behind him, and they went through the door of the base.

Inside, they saw a bunch of troops and a thin monkey ordering them. It was Andrew Oikonny, Andross's nephew! Oikonny turned and saw Fox and everyone else.

"You're too late, Star Fox. Andross has escaped! He left me in charge while he's creating a new base; you have lost!" He cried.

Fox stepped forward.

"Oikonny? You're still alive? I thought the Aparoid killed you," Fox said.

Oikonny laughed and replied, "Do you really think I'd go down that easily? I can't let you go anywhere else from here, Star Fox. Prepare to die!"

His troops lunged forward and started firing their weapons at everyone on Fox's side. Fox ran past them while the Cornerian troops battled with Andross's men.

"What should we do, Fox?" Falco asked.

Fox replied, "You, Slippy, and Krystal help take out Andross's troops. I'm after Oikonny."

Slippy, Krystal, and Falco helped the military beat down some of the enemy soldiers. Fox lunged at Oikonny, sending his body weight into Andrew; Oikonny tumbled backwards, while Fox ran at his opponent again. Oikonny slowly got up, giving Fox the chance for a punch. Oikonny fell backwards again, but recuperated quicker this time and sent a punch of his own at Fox. Fox was hit in the stomach, but ignored the pain and unleashed a powerful blow of a kick at Oikonny. After being hit, Oikonny started wildly throwing punches and kicks at Fox; Fox avoided everything with ease, returning a mean punch into Andrew's jaw. Oikonny held on to his hurting chin, while Fox took advantage of the time and threw Oikonny hard into the wall.

In the meantime, Krystal, Slippy, Falco, and the military were taking out Andrew's men with no problems. They used their blasters and eventually managed to kill off most of the guards. When the military had the remnants of Andross's men at gunpoint and Oikonny surrendered to Fox, it was clear the battle was won.

Fox pointed his blaster at Oikonny and declared, "When we get back to Corneria, you're going to tell us all about what Andross is planning and where he is."

Oikonny grumbled in complaint, but followed the rest out of the door, knowing he had lost. Fox took Oikonny in his Arwing while the military took the few enemies in their ships. The war was apparently far from over; at least Oikonny could give Star Fox a lead…

Fox decided once they put Oikonny and his soldiers behind bars, he'd go find his father on Katina before interrogating Oikonny. He decided he needed a small break before he would hunt down Andross; besides, Fox needed to see his father again. Of course, that hadn't been the plan initially, but things tend to change…

* * *

There was no one to greet the team when they got back to Corneria except for Bill Grey.

"What happened?" Grey asked Fox.

Fox responded, "We lost. Andross and Steven, who isn't really my uncle, have control over the Tritan King and plan on taking over Lylat again. Our only lead is Oikonny here who we captured on Titania. Right now, I have someone to visit."

Bill seemed confused and asked, "Who could that be?"

Fox replied, "My father, James. Maybe he knows something about this. I'm headed for Planet Katina; I'll come back to Corneria in a while to question Oikonny."

Bill saluted his old friend and took Oikonny and his men to jail. Despite the devastation of losing so much, Fox knew he had to push on, and perhaps reuniting with his father was the best way to begin. The rest of the team watched Fox fly off in his Arwing, hoping the best was yet to come…

* * *

**A/N: Did you think I revamped it well enough? I realize it's a far from perfect story, but it was my first as well. Even though it isn't as good as my other works, I felt it needed to be revamped since the original quality was mistake-filled! Anyways, thank you for reading or rereading it :) have a great day!**


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